US pledges $250m to support Ukraine’s agriculture

This was reported by Administrator of the US Agency for International Development Samantha Power, who arrived in Kyiv a day earlier, The Guardian writes.

Commenting on Russia's decision to withdraw from the grain deal, Power accused Vladimir Putin of making a life and death decision that affects millions of the world's poorest people.

"In recent weeks Russia began blocking ships from entering this port, and yesterday Putin made the reckless and dangerous decision to end Russian participation in the Black Sea grain initiative," Power said.

She said that Putin's justification for withdrawing from the deal was full of lies and that the decision would have a huge impact on the least developed countries, including Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia.

"This is a life and death decision that Putin has made … Vladimir Putin might be willing to inflict this humanitarian pain on innocents but the US is not," Samantha Power said. 

She called on other governments, philanthropists, and the private sector to also allocate funds to support Ukrainian agriculture.

Some details about the grain deal

The agreement, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, was concluded between Russia and Ukraine with the mediation of the UN and Turkey in July 2022 in Istanbul. It has since been extended several times.

In January, the Ministry of Infrastructure said that as a result of Russian actions in the Bosphorus, the world loses millions of tons of Ukrainian food every month. The occupiers are hampering the inspection of ships that export grain to third world countries.

In March 2023, the Russian Federation informed the parties that the agreement would be extended for only 60 days instead of 120. These agreements were due to expire on May 18.

To extend it, the Russians demanded:

• reconnecting Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT
• resumption of supply of agricultural machinery, spare parts and service
• lifting restrictions on insurance and reinsurance plus lifting the ban on access to ports
• resumption of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline
• unblocking foreign assets and accounts of Russian companies related to the production and transportation of food and fertilizers.

On May 17, the grain deal was extended for 60 days. The Russians' demands were not met.

On June 5, the Russian Federation said it saw no prospects for extending the agreement in July, and on June 22, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it did not see the Russians' readiness to continue the grain initiative.

On June 23, Ukraine announced it would participate in the construction of a grain terminal in Nigeria.

On July 5, the UN announced its readiness to send a representative to Moscow to "save the grain deal."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on July 8 that his country is working on extending the grain deal for two years.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has offered Russian President Putin to extend the grain deal in exchange for reconnecting Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT. The Kremlin had demanded this earlier

On July 12, Turkey’s Erdogan said that he had received proposals from Putin to extend the grain deal.

Ukraine is looking for alternative ways to supply grain to Africa, Europe and Asia.

On July 13, Putin said Russia will extend the grain deal when its demands are met. 

On July 16, the last ship loaded with Ukrainian agricultural products under the initiative left the port of Odesa. 

On July 17, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced the actual termination of the grain deal. At the same time, Turkish President Recep Erdogan announced his intention to discuss the extension of the grain deal with Putin.

The White House has condemned Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal, which played a crucial role in lowering global food prices.